Slight Binge, Lose Weight?

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moe5474
moe5474 Posts: 162
in Food and Nutrition
Just wondering if this has every happened to anyone else.....sometimes I can stick with my diet and calorie count very strictly for a long time. Then my weight hits a plateau and it seems like I can't seem to get past a certain number..........then if I have a bit of a "binge" night (basically just overeating by quite a bit) the weight FINALLY budges!!!

How is this possible? Mathematically the extra calories should not make me lose weight. What gives? And how do you know when giving in and eating a bit extra will make me lose weight, and when doing so will just make me gain?

Replies

  • anniebnannie
    anniebnannie Posts: 85 Member
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    this EXACT thing happened to me! I didn't necessarily binge - but I did go over my calorie count - and was discouraged - then BOOM! The next day - a four pound LOSS.... Go figure! lol
  • superbeffie
    superbeffie Posts: 93 Member
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    It happens to everyone, though I cannot scientifically tell you why. Let's just call it a bonus life gives us. I'm hoping for that myself since I just binged like a crazy woman.
  • shannonshock13
    shannonshock13 Posts: 355 Member
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    bump
  • wannalive
    wannalive Posts: 14
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    Here's my half-baked theory, which is based on mostly nothing but my imagination:

    When you diet maybe your body starts to be more "thrifty" with calories, such as perhaps not fueling your immune system as well, or not fueling your brain as well, or pretty much just "skimping" in how it spends its energy. When you binge a little, maybe that signals your body that it doesn't have to be so "thrifty" anymore, so it starts spending more fuel, and when it does that it has to take energy from your fat stores.

    The short version: Maybe your body hates to give up its fat stores when you're on a diet, but if you trick it into "thinking" you're not on a diet, it will use its fat stores.
  • wan2b21
    wan2b21 Posts: 147 Member
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    That has happened to me too!! Its weird but I think having a small "binge" night tricks your body out of clinging on to those lbs for dear life..
  • jparson714
    jparson714 Posts: 171 Member
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    are you eating at least 1200 calories a day? are you weighing/measuring your food? i have noticed that if i eat around 1400 that i lose weight faster than i would closer to 1200. not sure why that is either and would love to hear others thoughts on it too.
  • CuteMommy88
    CuteMommy88 Posts: 538 Member
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    yep!! that is how i get through my plateaus!!! its weird but it works!! I think when you suddenly start working out like crazy and limiting calories your body clings to every calorie so when you have a cheat day your body is like "oh ok I'm not starving" :laugh:
  • POOKIE19
    POOKIE19 Posts: 8
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    Your body gets used to your diet and gets used to digesting those foods when you eat a lil junk it makes your metabolism kick in. Thats how it was explained to me anyway.
  • jenbusick
    jenbusick Posts: 528 Member
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    are you eating at least 1200 calories a day? are you weighing/measuring your food? i have noticed that if i eat around 1400 that i lose weight faster than i would closer to 1200. not sure why that is either and would love to hear others thoughts on it too.

    I have experienced this, as well as the "binge" effect described. Sometimes eat more=burn more. I just wish it worked that way ALL the time!
  • shannonshock13
    shannonshock13 Posts: 355 Member
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    would it be weird to hit a plateau at only losing 13 pounds (according to the scale and not counting fat loss but muscle gain)?

    cos i am super dedicated and work out 6 days a week and eat very clean and healthy and drink lots of water.... and the scale has not budged for like 2 weeks....
  • OperaticAnnihilator
    OperaticAnnihilator Posts: 83
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    Your body gets used to your diet and gets used to digesting those foods when you eat a lil junk it makes your metabolism kick in. Thats how it was explained to me anyway.
    Me also. I do believe it's your metabolism getting a kick start and working just a lil harder. :)
  • moe5474
    moe5474 Posts: 162
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    are you eating at least 1200 calories a day? are you weighing/measuring your food? i have noticed that if i eat around 1400 that i lose weight faster than i would closer to 1200. not sure why that is either and would love to hear others thoughts on it too.

    I have experienced this, as well as the "binge" effect described. Sometimes eat more=burn more. I just wish it worked that way ALL the time!

    I usually try to stick to roughly 1200 calories but I know I probably don't count every single calorie since I don't measure. Maybe I should shoot for 1400 then.....

    I'm glad I'm not the only one though! It doesn't make any sense scientifically but I just didn't know if it happened to anyone else...
  • jenbusick
    jenbusick Posts: 528 Member
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    would it be weird to hit a plateau at only losing 13 pounds (according to the scale and not counting fat loss but muscle gain)?

    cos i am super dedicated and work out 6 days a week and eat very clean and healthy and drink lots of water.... and the scale has not budged for like 2 weeks....

    I was stuck at a -7lb plateau for 2 years, that's why I joined MFP. Like you, watching calories and working out daily...turned out I needed to add a couple hundred calories to my daily intake and change up my exercise routine, now I'm losing again.
  • jenbusick
    jenbusick Posts: 528 Member
    Options
    are you eating at least 1200 calories a day? are you weighing/measuring your food? i have noticed that if i eat around 1400 that i lose weight faster than i would closer to 1200. not sure why that is either and would love to hear others thoughts on it too.

    I have experienced this, as well as the "binge" effect described. Sometimes eat more=burn more. I just wish it worked that way ALL the time!

    I usually try to stick to roughly 1200 calories but I know I probably don't count every single calorie since I don't measure. Maybe I should shoot for 1400 then.....

    I'm glad I'm not the only one though! It doesn't make any sense scientifically but I just didn't know if it happened to anyone else...

    at 1200 calories per day I wasn't losing weight. At 1360 per day I am losing weight again. Go figure.
  • thankyou4thevenom
    thankyou4thevenom Posts: 1,581 Member
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    A nutritionist friend of mine never advises to eat the same amount of calories every day. She says it's because the human body was never designed to work on the same amount of calories everyday. You should eat more one day and less (depending on your hunger levels) the next so your metabolism is on it's toes so to speak.

    Coincidentally to back this up a very slim friend of mine will eat like a pig on one day and the next day she'll eat an apple. I found that really interesting.

    So while I'm not trying that exactly it does make me worry less about the ups and downs when it comes to my daily calorie count. If I'm over, I'm over. If I'm under I'm under. It doesn't matter as long as in the long term the weight is going in the right direction.
  • kinsellae
    kinsellae Posts: 167 Member
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    This happens to me too. In fact my weight wasn't going anywhere until I increased my calories and even the last two nights I ate a little more than usual and I'm still losing!
  • moe5474
    moe5474 Posts: 162
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    A nutritionist friend of mine never advises to eat the same amount of calories every day. She says it's because the human body was never designed to work on the same amount of calories everyday. You should eat more one day and less (depending on your hunger levels) the next so your metabolism is on it's toes so to speak.

    Coincidentally to back this up a very slim friend of mine will eat like a pig on one day and the next day she'll eat an apple. I found that really interesting.

    So while I'm not trying that exactly it does make me worry less about the ups and downs when it comes to my daily calorie count. If I'm over, I'm over. If I'm under I'm under. It doesn't matter as long as in the long term the weight is going in the right direction.

    I've heard this before so I'll have to give it a shot.

    I guess it's so frustrating because sometimes those extra calories make me finally start losing again, and then sometimes they make me gain :( I wish there was a rhyme or reason to it.....
  • poptastic
    poptastic Posts: 151 Member
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    I can't figure this out either, last year I had been eating healthily and exercising for months without results then went on holiday and ate hot dogs, pizza, chinese food, pancakes etc etc - and came back 8lbs lighter!

    I can't figure out if most days I am eating too little or too much.

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